Play extension system and program for the same

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a play extension system enhancing a fun of a toy system by use of network. The play extension system is used by combination with the toy system in which a user can change the setting of parameters affecting motion control of a driving machine, for extending a playing method with the toy system. In the system, the setting information corresponding to the setting state of the parameters is received from a predetermined user terminal through a network, and estimation on the obtained setting information is created by referring to a database which stores the setting information and the information for estimating the setting state correspondingly. The created estimation is transmitted to a predetermined destination through the network.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a play extension system which is usedby combination with a toy system capable of changing the setting ofparameters affecting motion control of a driving machine by a user,thereby enhancing the fun of a play with the toy system.

2. Description of the Related Art

In the toy system for remote-controlling a driving machine such as avehicle and a vessel by using radio waves or infrared rays, there issome toy system in which a user can change the setting of acorrespondence between an input operation to a remote-controlledtransmission unit and a control amount of the driving machine movedaccording to the input operation. For example, as is well known, in atoy system capable of a user's remote-controlling a model car, thesetting of a correspondence between ‘the user’s operation amount of asteering wheel (or lever) provided on the transmission unit and theactual steering amount of the wheel corresponding to it, can be changedby a user, and therefore, the steering characteristic of a car can beadjusted according to the taste of a user.

In a conventional toy system, according as the number of the settableparameters is increased, reality of the toy is more enhanced. On thecontrary, however, a user's trouble of finding out a proper setting foreach parameter is also increased. Therefore, if the system is providedwith a lot of the settable parameters, a class of users is limited tosuch a personality that is not troubled by the above setting. In theuser's individual setting, even if a user finds a proper setting, it mayprove to need improvement, or a user may lose interest in the playthereafter because of the above trouble, without making full use of theprepared setting change function, regardless of the existence of theworthy setting.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a playextension system capable of enhancing the fun of a toy system by using anetwork.

In order to achieve the above object, there is provided a play extensionsystem to be used by combination with a toy system in which a user canchange setting of parameters affecting motion control of a drivingmachine, the system comprising: an information obtaining device forreceiving setting information corresponding to a setting state of theparameters from a predetermined user terminal through a network; anestimation creating device for creating estimation of the settinginformation obtained by the information obtaining device, referring to adatabase in which the setting information and information for estimatingthe setting state are stored correspondingly with each other; and anestimation transmission device for transmitting the created estimationto a predetermined destination through the network.

According to the play extension system, a user can receive an objectiveestimation on the setting state of parameters of the driving machinethrough the network. Accordingly, a user can change the set value of aparameter based on the obtained estimation, so as to improve the controlcharacteristic of the driving machine, or so as to try thelower-estimated setting, and thereby, various playing ways can becreated based on the information provided through the network.Therefore, a playing method of the toy system can be extended, hence toenhance the fun of the toy system.

The toy system may present the information for specifying the user'ssetting state of a plurality of parameters to the user, and theinformation obtaining device may obtain the information presented to theuser by the toy system, from the user terminal, as the settinginformation. In this case, the information presented by the toy systemto a user can be transmitted from the user terminal as it is as thesetting information. Therefore, a user can use the play extension systemat ease.

The toy system may comprise a driving machine and a transmission unitfor a user's remote-controlling of the driving machine, and the settableparameters may affect a correspondence between an input operation of thetransmission unit and a control amount of the driving machine based on acontrol signal transmitted from the transmission unit to the drivingmachine. In this case, a user can change the steering characteristic ofthe driving machine by use of the transmission unit, referring to theestimation given through a network.

Information of sentences expressing characteristic of the setting statespecified in the setting information and/or information of sentences forgiving a clue to improvement of the setting state to a user may bestored in the database as the information for estimating.

The estimation transmission device may transmit to the user terminal,through the network, the information for presenting the sentences to auser as at least one part of the estimation information. In this way, auser can watch the estimation on the user terminal easily and understandthe estimation at once because the estimation is expressed in sentences.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda play extension system to be used by combination with a toy system inwhich a user can change setting of parameters affecting motion controlof a driving machine, the play extension system comprising: anelectronic information providing device for providing a user terminaloperated by each user with electronic information for displaying on ascreen of the user terminal a state of a game virtually reproducing aplay with the driving machine in the toy system, upon receipt of accessfrom a plurality of users through a predetermined network; a game resultstoring device for storing a result of the game, which is displayed onthe screen of each user terminal, so as to be associated withinformation specifying the user; a privilege issuing device for issuinga predetermined privilege at least to some user, referring to the resultof the game stored in the game result storing device; and a privilegenotifying device for transmitting information associated with theprivilege to a destination corresponding to a privileged user, wherein,in the game based on the electronic information provided by theelectronic information providing device, a user's setting operation ofthe same type of parameter as a user's settable type of parameter in thetoy system is required and the set parameter affects the result of thegame.

According to the play extension system described above, a user can enjoythe toy system virtually through a game displayed on the screen of theuser terminal. Further, in a game, a user can perform the settingoperation of the same type of parameter as a type of parameter settablein the toy system, which makes a user feel a relationship and a sense oftogetherness of a play in the toy system and a game reproduced by thegame of the toy system strongly. Therefore, a user's playing method ofthe toy system can be extended from the individual and local use only bythe toy system to the wide use through a network.

A game may be executed on the play extension system, or on the userterminal. In the former case, the electronic information provided to theuser terminal includes the data for displaying the state of the game onthe user terminal, while in the latter case, the electronic informationprovided to the user terminal includes a program executable on the userterminal. The information specifying a user may be the user ID and thelike. If a destination corresponding to a user is included in theinformation specifying a user, it is possible to specify the destinationof a privilege easily.

The parameter to be input in the game may affect a motion characteristicof a driving machine appearing in the game and the result of the gamemay vary depending on the motion characteristic. In this case, it ispossible to realize a common performance between the operation ofchanging the driving characteristic of the driving machine by setting aparameter in the toy system and the operation of changing the drivingcharacteristic of the driving machine by setting a parameter on thegame. Therefore, a user can be impressed with extension of the playingform with the toy system thanks to a service provided through a network.

The privilege issuing device may specify a user who has obtained thegame result equal to or superior to a predetermined level, referring tothe stored game result, and may issue the privilege to the specifieduser.

The privilege issuing device may issue an entry right to a specifiedmeeting using the toy system as the privilege, and the privilegenotifying device may transmit the information for notifying the issue ofthe entry right, to the destination, together with the information on anentry condition of the meeting, as the information on the privilege. Inthis case, the play extension system can be used as device for inducinga user to enter an actual meeting by use of the toy system.

The game result storing device may store the result of the game so as tobe associated with the parameter input by the user, and the privilegenotifying device may transmit the information specifying the parameterstored by the game result storing device correspondingly to the gameresult which has generated the entry right to the meeting, as theinformation on the entry condition to the meeting.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a program for constructing a play extension system by one or aplurality of servers of a Web site, which system is used by combinationwith a toy system in which a user can change setting of parametersaffecting motion control of a driving machine, wherein the program forthe play extension system is designed to work the server as: aninformation obtaining device for receiving setting informationcorresponding to a setting state of the parameters from a predetermineduser terminal through a network; an estimation creating device forcreating estimation of the setting information obtained by theinformation obtaining device, referring to a database in which thesetting information and information for estimating the setting state arestored correspondingly with each other; and an estimation transmissiondevice for transmitting the created estimation to a predetermineddestination through the network.

Another program of the present invention is a program for constructing aplay extension system by one or a plurality of servers of a Web site,which system is used by combination with a toy system in which a usercan change setting of parameters affecting motion control of a drivingmachine, wherein the program for a play extension system is designed towork the server as: an electronic information providing device forproviding a user terminal operated by each user with electronicinformation for displaying on a screen of the user terminal a state of agame virtually reproducing a play with the driving machine in the toysystem, upon receipt of access from a plurality of users through apredetermined network; a game result storing device for storing a resultof the game, which is displayed on the screen of each user terminal soas to be associated with information specifying the user; a privilegeissuing device for issuing a predetermined privilege at least to someuser, referring to the result of the game stored in the game resultstoring device; and a privilege notifying device for transmittinginformation associated with the privilege to a destination correspondingto a privileged user, and in the game based on the electronicinformation provided by the electronic information providing device, auser's setting operation of the same type of parameter as a user'ssettable type of parameter in the toy system is required and the setparameter affects the result of the game.

According to these programs, the play extension system of the presentinvention can be formed by using the server of the Web site.

The above programs may be provided to a market in a state of beingstored in a storing medium, or delivered to a market through a wired orwireless network. The “play extension system” of the present inventionmeans a system in which the playing form provided by the toy system isextended by a service provided through a network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the structure of a toy extension systemaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the schematic structure of aremote-controlled toy system combined with the play extension system ofthe present invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the circuitry of a transmission unit;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the structure of one block of remote controldata supplied from the transmission unit;

FIGS. 5A to 5C are a diagrams showing a model car as one embodiment of adriving machine;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the circuitry of a control system mounted onthe model car;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing how to take transmission timing when fourtransmission units are simultaneously used;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the power-on operationexecuted by a control circuit of the transmission unit from power supplyto a start of transmission its own data;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the usual operationexecuted by the control circuit of the transmission unit continuously tothe processing of FIG. 8;

FIGS. 10A and 10B are diagrams showing the detail of the transmissionunit;

FIGS. 11A and 11B are diagrams showing the contents of the turbo settingand the brake setting;

FIGS. 12A and 12B are diagrams showing a setting example of acorrespondence between the operation amount of the steering and thespeed ratio of the motors;

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another setting example of a correspondencebetween the operation amount of the steering and the speed ratio of themotors;

FIG. 14 is a flow chart of the setting processing executed by thecontrol circuit of the transmission unit in order to set the drivingcharacteristic of the model car by use of the transmission unit;

FIG. 15 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the processing executedby the user terminal and the Web server when the play extension systemof FIG. 1 provides a setting check service;

FIGS. 16A to 16C are diagrams showing an example of the screen displayedon the user terminal according to the processing of FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the race processingexecuted on the user terminal according to the race application programdelivered from the Web server;

FIGS. 18A to 18F are diagrams showing an example of the screen displayedon the user terminal according to the processing of FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the processing executedby the user terminal and the Web server when the play extension systemof FIG. 1 provides a ranking analysis service;

FIGS. 20A to 20C are diagrams showing an example of the screen displayedon the user terminal according to the processing of FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is a flow chart showing the procedure of invitation carddelivering processing executed by the Web server of the play extensionsystem of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of the screen display ofinvitation card data transmitted to the user terminal according to theprocessing of FIG. 21.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 shows a combination of a remote operational toy system SY1 and aplay extension system SY2 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. Hereinafter, the remote operational toy system SY1 and theplay extension system SY2 will be explained by turn.

[Explanation of the Remote Operational Toy System]

The remote operational toy system SY1 is a system in which a useroperates a driving machine 1 (here, a remote control car in thisexample) through a transmission unit 2 so as to enjoy a race togetherwith another user.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic structure of the remoteoperational toy system SY1. In FIG. 2, it is assumed that three drivingmachines 1 . . . 1 are operated remotely at the same place. Thetransmission units, or sending units 2 . . . 2 are provided for thedriving machines 1 in the one-to-one correspondence. The numbers 1 to 3are respectively set at the driving machines 1 . . . 1 and thetransmission units 2 . . . 2 as the identification number (ID). Thedriving machine 1 and the transmission unit 2 which have the sameidentification number are in a pair, and the driving machine 1 isremotely operated according to the data from the transmission unit 2having the same identification number. An infrared ray is used forremote control of the driving machines 1. Therefore, a remote controlsignal emitting unit 3 is mounted on each of the transmission units 2and a remote control signal receiving unit 4 is mounted on each of thedriving machines 1. For synchronization of data transmission between thetransmission units 2, a remote control signal receiving unit 5 ismounted on each of the transmission units 2.

FIG. 3 shows a circuitry of the transmission unit 2. The transmissionunit 2 is provided with the above-mentioned remote control signalemitting unit 3 and receiving unit 5, and further provided with acontrol circuit 10 for creating transmission data or controlling theother circuits, an input unit 11 of volume, switch, or operation key forcontrolling the operation of the driving machine 1, and a switch 12 forsetting an identification number. The state of the input unit 11operated by an operator is detected by an input circuit 13, and anoperation signal depending on the state of the input unit 11 is suppliedtherefrom to the control circuit 10. The identification number set bythe identification number setting switch 12 is read by the controlcircuit 10. The identification number setting switch 12 may be designedsuch that an operator or a system manager and the like can select anynumber from a predetermined range, or it may be designed such that amanufacturer of the transmission unit 2 previously fixes theidentification number at a specified number. The control circuit 10 isformed by a combination of a microcomputer and a predetermined program.

The remote control signal emitting unit 3 is formed to include lightemitting means, for example, an LED, thereby emitting an infrared rayaccording to an instruction from a transmission circuit 14. Thetransmission circuit 14 supplies the transmission data to the remotecontrol signal emitting unit 3 according to the timing instructed by anoutput timing creating circuit 15. The data to be supplied to the remotecontrol signal emitting unit 3 is created by the control circuit 10 andthe transmission circuit 14 modulates the data created by the controlcircuit 10 through a carrier signal for remote control, so to drive theremote control signal emitting unit 3. The output timing creatingcircuit 15 counts the time according to the timer set value given fromthe control circuit 10 and supplies a transmission instruction to thetransmission circuit 14 when the time corresponding to the timer setvalue elapses. The frequency of the infrared carrier signal suppliedfrom the remote control signal emitting unit 3 is the same in all thetransmission machines 2.

While, the remote control signal receiving unit 5 receives an infraredray transmitted from the other transmission unit 2, and supplies thesignal obtained by eliminating the carrier component from the receivedinfrared ray to a receiving circuit 16. The receiving circuit 16 decodesthe signal given from the remote control signal receiving unit 5 intoremote control data for one block and supplies it to a received datachecking circuit 17. The remote control data for one block is formed bythe identification number and the control information of a pair of rightand left motors provided in the driving machine 1 (motors 28 and 28 ofFIG. 5), as illustrated in FIG. 4. The control information of the rightand left motors is further formed by the information for discriminatingwhether the rotating direction of each motor is a forward direction or arearward direction (F/R discrimination) or it is stopped and theinformation for specifying the moving speed of the motors. The movingspeed of the motors can be specified respectively in eight-steps from 1to 8.

The correspondence between the operation amount of the input unit 11 andthe motor control information can be changed in a predetermined range bya user operating the input unit 11. The setting content is stored in astorage 10 a. The storage 10 a is formed by a combination of anonvolatile semiconductor memory, for example, EEPROM, and a RAM workingas a work area of the control circuit 10. One example of thecorrespondence between the input unit 11 and the motor controlinformation will be described later. Here, the number of bits in oneblock of the remote control data is always constant. Therefore, the timetaken to transmit one block of the remote control data is also constant.

The received data checking circuit 17 checks the identification numberof the received data given from the receiving circuit 16 and suppliesthe check result to the control circuit 10. The control circuit 10controls the operation of the transmission circuit 14 and the outputtiming creating circuit 15 according to the information given from thereceived data checking circuit 17, the identification number settingswitch 12, and the input circuit 13. The control circuit 10 checksinterference and sets the timing to supply the transmission data of thistransmission unit 2, based on the identification number of the receiveddata given from the received data checking circuit 17 and theidentification number of this transmission unit 2 set by theidentification number setting switch 12. According to the set outputtiming, the control circuit 10 sets the timer set value for the outputtiming creating circuit 15. Further, the control circuit 10 creates thetransmission data to the driving machine 1 having the sameidentification number as this transmission unit 2, based on theinformation given from the identification number setting switch 12 andthe input circuit 13, and supplies the transmission data to thetransmission circuit 14.

A liquid crystal display 18 is further provided in the transmission unit2. The liquid crystal display 18 is to display the setting state of thetransmission unit 2, and the display content is controlled by thecontrol circuit 10 through a driving circuit 19.

Although a power switch and the like are also connected to the controlcircuit 10 in addition to the above, they are omitted. Alternatively,two and more remote control signal receiving units 5 may be provided inone transmission unit 2 in a way of detecting a signal in variousdirections. The transmission circuit 14, the output timing creatingcircuit 15, the receiving circuit 16, and the received data checkingcircuit 17 may be formed by a logic circuit, or they may be formed by acombination of a microcomputer and a predetermined program, similarly tothe control circuit 10. At least one of the output timing creatingcircuit 15 and the received data checking circuit 17 may be integratedin the control circuit 10.

FIG. 5A is a side elevation view of one embodiment of the drivingmachine 1, FIG. 5B is a bottom view thereof, and FIG. 5C is a rearelevation view thereof. In this embodiment, the driving machine 1 isformed as a compact model car 20. The model car 20 has a chassis 21 anda body 22 which covers the chassis. A front wheel 23 is provided in thefront center of the chassis 21 and a pair of right and left rear wheels24 and 24 are provided in the rear portion. The front wheel 23 ismounted on a support leg 25 through an axle shaft 25 a in a rotatableway. The support leg 25 is mounted on the chassis 21 in a rotatable wayaround a cornering axis 26 in a vertical direction. This enables thefront wheel 23 to rotate 360° freely about the cornering axis 26. Thoughdummy wheels 27 and 27 are mounted on the chassis 21 in the front rightand left, the dummy wheels 27 and 27 are floated and the chassis 21 issupported by the front wheel 23 and the rear wheels 24 and 24.

Motors 28 and 28 are provided in the rear portion of the chassis 21, ina way of laying one on the top of the other. The motors 28 and 28 areprovided in order to drive the rear wheels 24 and 24 separately. Apinion 29 is mounted on an output axis 28 a of each motor 28, and therotation of the pinion 29 is transmitted through a gear string 30 to therear wheel 24 to be driven. Since the right and left rear wheels 24 and24 are separately driven by the motors 28 and 28 as mentioned above, therotation speed of the motors 28 and 28 can be varied in the right motor28 and the left motor 28, and only one motor 28 may be driven or themotors 28 and 28 may be rotated in a direction different from eachother, thereby giving the model car 20 a variety of cornering.

A battery 31 is provided in front of the motors 28, and a controller 32formed, for example, as a one-chip microcomputer is provided over thebattery. In the rear portion of the chassis 21, an LED 33 for checkingthe power-on/off is provided. Further, a remote control signal receivingunit 34 for receiving an infrared ray from the transmission unit 2 isprovided in the top middle portion of the body 22.

FIG. 6 shows a circuitry of a control system mounted on the model car20. The above-mentioned remote control signal receiving unit 34 isprovided in the model car 20. The remote control signal receiving unit34 receives an infrared ray transmitted from the transmission unit 2 andsupplies the signal obtained by eliminating a carrier component from thereceived infrared ray to a receiving circuit 35. The receiving circuit35 decodes the signal given from the remote control signal receivingunit 34 into one block of remote control data and supplies it to acontrol circuit 37. The remote control data for one block is as shown inFIG. 4. The control circuit 37 checks the identification number of thereceived data given from the receiving circuit 35 and checks thevalidity or invalidity of the remote control data by comparison betweenthe same identification number and the identification number set by anidentification number setting switch 38. Namely, when both theidentification numbers are not in one accord, it judges that thereceived remote control data is invalid and does not create a drivingsignal of the motors 28. On the other hand, when both the identificationnumbers are in one accord, it decides the rotation direction and therotation speed of the motors 28 based on the motor control informationof the remote control data given from the receiving circuit 35, andsupplies the motor driving signal corresponding to the decided value tomotor driving circuits 39 and 39. The motor driving circuits 39 and 39control the rotation of the motors 28 and 28 based on the given motordriving signal. The identification number setting switch 38 may bedesigned such that an operator or a system manager and the like canselect any number from a predetermined range, or it may be designed suchthat a manufacturer of the transmission unit 2 previously fixes theidentification number at a specified number. A power switch 40 is alsoconnected to the control circuit 37. The battery 31 and the LED 33 shownin FIG. 5 are omitted in FIG. 6.

When the remote control data is simultaneously transmitted from two andmore transmission units 2 to the above-mentioned model car 20 and theidentification number of the remote control data of one transmissionunit 2 agrees with that of the model car 20, since the remote controldata received at that time is regarded to be valid by the controlcircuit 37, there is a fear of malfunctioning the motors 28 because ofthe interference of the control information of the motor with thecontrol information from the other transmission unit 2 having adifferent identification number. Then, in the remote control system ofthe embodiment, each transmission unit 2 specifies its own possibletiming to transmit while receiving a remote control signal issued by theother transmission unit 2, thereby synchronizing the transmission timingso that the transmission timing of each transmission unit 2 does notoverlap with each other. Hereinafter, this point will be described.

FIG. 7 shows how to take transmission timing when four transmissionunits 2 are simultaneously used. In FIG. 7, the time length of onetransmission unit 2 transmission a remote control signal is defined asT, and each transmission unit 2 repeats transmission of the remotecontrol signal in a cycle corresponding to the number of thetransmission units 2×transmission time T(=4T). The transmission timingof the transmission units 2 is deviated from each other by Tsequentially from the transmission unit 2 of the identification number1. The transmission timing of the transmission units 2 is controlledaccording to that relationship, thereby preventing overlap of thetransmission time of the four transmission units 2. In order to realizesuch a transmission control, for example, the transmission unit 2 of theidentification number 2 in FIG. 7 should be controlled at the followingtransmission timing.

When receiving the data of the identification number 1 at the time t1,the transmission unit 2 of the identification number 2 starts output ofits own transmission data and completes the output of its owntransmission data at the time t2. It checks the received data of thereceiving circuit 16 (refer to FIG. 3) at the completion of thetransmission and confirms that there occurs no interference of signals.Thereafter, it sets the transmission timer for counting the next outputtiming at 3T and starts the timer count.

When receiving the remote control data of the identification number 3 atthe time t3, the transmission unit 2 sets the transmission timer at 2Tagain and starts the timer count. When receiving the remote control dataof the identification number 4 at the time t4, it sets the transmissiontimer at T again and starts the timer count.

When the power of the transmission unit 2 of the identification number 1is turned off, or the transmission unit 2 of the identification number 2cannot receive the data from the transmission unit 2 of theidentification number 1 due to noise and the like, it should start theoutput of its own data at a point where the time T elapses in thetransmission timer after receiving the data of the identification number4. Even if it cannot receive a signal further from the othertransmission unit 2, it can continue the output of the transmission dataat a cycle of 4T by making use of the time 3T which is set in thetransmission timer at the completion of transmission its own data.

Although the description has been made in the case of four transmissionunits 2, the transmission timing can be controlled similarly also in thecase of five and more transmission units 2 by attaching so manyidentification numbers. The cycle of the transmission timing of thetransmission units 2 becomes N×T (where N is the number of thetransmission units). A space of no data transmission by any transmissionunit may be interposed between the period of the data transmission bythe transmission unit 2, thereby setting the whole cycle longer than NT.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the power-on operationto be executed by the control circuit 10 of the transmission unit 2 fromthe power supply to the start of the transmission of its own data. Whenthe power is supplied; the timer for time over is set (Step S1). Thecontrol circuit 10 checks whether the data is received or not from theother transmission unit 2 (Step S2), and when it is received, it checkswhether the identification number of the received data agrees with theidentification number set for this transmission unit 2 (Step S3). Whenit agrees, this step will return to Step S1, where the checkingoperation is repeated. Thus, interference when there exist a pluralityof the transmission units 2 having the same identification number can beprevented. When both the identification numbers are judged to be out ofaccord in Step S3, its own output timing is set according to theidentification number of the other transmission unit 2 (Step S4). Forexample, when the transmission unit 2 of the identification number 2 inFIG. 7 receives the data of the identification number 3, its own outputtiming is set at 2T later.

It checks whether the timer set in Step S1 comes to time-over or not(Step S5), and if it doesn't come to time-over, this step will return toStep S2. When it comes to time-over, the transmission unit 2 startstransmission its own data (Step S6). Here, it is at a point of theoutput timing set in Step S4 that it actually starts the output. When nodata is received until time-over, there is only the single operation ofthis transmission unit 2 and exists no other transmission unit 2, andtherefore, it starts the data transmission immediately in Step S6.

When the processing in Step S6 is completed, the control circuit 10controls the data transmission according to the procedure of theordinary operation of FIG. 9. In the ordinary operation, the controlcircuit 10 checks whether the data is received from the othertransmission unit 2 or not (Step S11), and when it is received, itchecks whether the received identification number agrees with theidentification number set for this transmission unit 2 (Step S12). Whenit agrees, it returns to the power-on operation of FIG. 8. While, whenthe identification number of the received data does not agree with theidentification number of this transmission unit 2, the output timing ofthis transmission unit 2 is set for the transmission timer according tothe identification number of the received data (Step S13). It checkswhether the transmission timer comes to timeout or not (Step S14), andthis step will return to Step S1 repeatedly until it comes to timeout.

When it is judged to be timeout in Step S14, the control circuit 10starts transmission its own data (Step S15). At this time, receivingdata is also performed in parallel. It checks whether the datatransmission is completed or not (Step S16), and when the transmissionis completed, the transmitted data is compared with the data received inparallel to the transmission (Step S17). When it does not agree, itjudges that interference has occurred and advances to the power-onoperation of FIG. 8. When it agrees, it judges that no interference hasoccurred and the output-timing of the next time is set for thetransmission timer (Step S18). Then, this step will return to Step S1.

FIG. 10A shows an appearance of the transmission unit 2. As illustratedin FIG. 10A, the transmission unit 2 is fully covered with a housing 50,and the housing 50 includes a main body 51, a grip portion 52, and abase portion 53. A user can hold the whole of the transmission unit 2 bygripping the grip portion 52 one-handed, alternatively he or she canstand the transmission unit 2 with the base portion 53 founded on a deskand the like.

On the main body 51, of the input unit 11, especially a steering 54 anda throttle lever 55 are provided as the operational material used forthe operation of the driving machine 1. When the driving machine 1 isthe model car 20, the steering 54 is used as the operation material forinstructing steering of the model car 20 and the throttle lever 55 isused as the operation material for specifying the moving speed of themodel car 20.

The steering 54 is protruded out of the housing 50 in a shape of a discand it is designed as a variable register in which a resistance valuevaries according to the rotation amount around the center axis. Thethrottle lever 55 can be operated in a forward and backward direction(in a direction shown by the arrow A in FIG. 10A) curvedly around anon-illustrated supporting point provided inside the main body 51, andit is designed as a variable register in which a resistance value variesaccording to the rotation amount. A user can put his or her finger onthe throttle lever 55 so as to operate it in a forward and backwarddirection. The steering 54 and the throttle lever 55 are respectivelyfixed to a predetermined center position by spring means not illustratedand if the user takes off the finger, they will return to the centerpositions by themselves. The center positions of the steering 54 and thethrottle lever 55 are set at, for example, the respective centers of theoperational ranges.

The resolution of the steering 54 and the throttle lever 55 ispreferably set at the integral multiple of the resolution about thespeed control of the motor 28 mounted on the model car 20. For example,when the rotation speed of the motors 28 is controlled respectively ineight steps in a forward direction and a backward direction, it ispreferable that the resistance value to be set according to theoperation amount of the steering 54 and the throttle lever 55 is variedby the integral multiple of 8 in both directions from the respectivecenter positions.

FIG. 10B shows the aspect on the left side of the main body 51 of FIG.10A. As apparent from this figure, a liquid crystal display 18 isprovided on the left side of the main body 51, and associated with theliquid crystal display 18, push-button switches 56, 57, and 58 for usein changing the setting of the correspondence between the operationamount of the steering 54 and the throttle lever 55 and the motorcontrol information supplied depending on these operations are providedthere. These push-button switches 56 to 58 also work as one of the inputunit 11 of FIG. 3. The character information 60 to 62, “SELECT”,“CONTROL”, and “ENTER” from the left of FIG. 10B are respectivelyattached on the push-button switches 56 to 58. In the below, thepush-button switches 56 to 58 may be sometimes referred to as the selectbutton 56, the control button 57, and the enter button 58, respectively,to distinguish from each other.

FIG. 10B also shows a setting change screen 70 to be displayed on theliquid crystal display 18 at the above operation of changing thesetting. On the left side of the setting change screen 70, there isdisplayed character information 71 to 74; “SUS F”, “SUS R”, “BRAKE”, and“TURBO” respectively indicating four items as parameters which arechangeable by a user and which affect the operation control of the modelcar 20. The character information 75, “PASS” is displayed below them. Onthe right side of the character information 71 to 75, there aredisplayed a setting gauge 76 divided into eight segments 76 a . . . 76 aand a password 77.

Hereafter, the setting items will be described.

The “SUS F” and “SUS R” are the setting items adapted for setting thehardness of a front suspension and a rear suspension of the model car20. The “BRAKE” is the setting item adapted for setting the brakeperformance of the model car 20, and the “TURBO” is the setting itemadapted for setting the acceleration and the maximum speed of the modelcar 20. Each of the setting items can be selected from eight steps; theminimum value 1 to the maximum value 8, and the segments 76 a of thesetting gauge 76 correspond to the number of steps. For example, whenthree segments from the left light up, the set value is 3. The password77 is formed in a combination of the above four set values. For example,when the “SUS F” is 4, the “SUS R” is 7, the “BRAKE” is 6, and the“TURBO” is 5, the password 77 becomes “4765”.

The correspondence between the above-mentioned setting items and themotor control information to be supplied to the model car 20 ispreviously set by a provider of the toy system SY1 as follows.

As for the “TURBO”, the correspondence between the moving speed Mv ofthe motor 28 and the operation amount p of the throttle lever 55 whenthe model car 20 drives straight ahead, in other words, when there is nodifference between the moving speed Mv of the left motor 28 and theright motor 28 is changed depending on the set value of the “TURBO”. Forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 11A, when the set value of the “TURBO”is small, the ratio of a change in the moving speed of the motor 28 tothe operation amount φ of the throttle lever 55 from the neutralposition is set small, and the maximum value Mvmax of the moving speedof the motor 28′ is set small when the throttle lever 55 is operated atthe maximum value φmax.

On the contrary, when the set value of the “TURBO” is large, the ratioof a change in the moving speed Mv of the motor 28 to the operationamount φ of the throttle lever 55 from the neutral position is setlarge, and the maximum value Mvmax of the moving speed of the motor 28is set large when the throttle lever 55 is operated at the maximum valueφmax. Thus, when the set value of the “TURBO” is large, the accelerationand the maximum speed become large, thereby having an effect as ifsupercharging an engine with a supercharger in a real car. If theacceleration becomes large, a delicate speed adjustment becomesdifficult, and therefore, it is not always possible to obtain afavorable effect.

As for the “BRAKE”, a time lag from returning the throttle lever 55 tothe neutral position to producing a brake power by giving an instructionof normal rotation and inverse rotation to the motors 28 and 28simultaneously is specified according to the set value. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 11B, when the set value of the “BRAKE” is small, atime lag from returning to the neutral position to giving a brakeinstruction is set long, and when the set value is large, a time lagfrom returning to the neutral position to giving a brake instruction isset short.

Further, as for the “SUS F” and the “SUS R”, the correspondence betweenthe operation amount θ of the steering 54 from the neutral position andthe speed ratio Rv of the moving speed of the motors 28 and 28 ischanged according to the difference ΔSUS of these set values. Here, thespeed ratio Rv means the value (Mv1/Mv2) obtained by dividing the movingspeed Mv1 of the low-speed motor 28 by the moving speed Mv2 of thehigh-speed motor 28.

It is well known that in a general car, steering quality variesaccording to the difference of the hardness between a front suspensionand a rear suspension. When the front suspension is relatively harderthan the rear suspension, there appears such a steering quality that acar becomes difficult to turn, called under-steer, and when the frontsuspension is relatively softer than the rear suspension, there appearssuch a steering quality that a car becomes easy to turn, calledover-steer.

In the remote operational toy system SY1 of this embodiment, the speeddifference is produced between the two motors 28 and 28, hence to turnthe model car 20. When the speed ratio of the motors 28 and 28 issmaller, the model car 20 becomes easier to turn, and when the speeddifference is larger, the model car 20 becomes more difficult to turn.Therefore, even if the operation amount θ of the steering 54 from theneutral position is changed, as far as the speed ratio Rv of the motors28 can be kept in about a state of straight ahead (=1), the under-steerquality such that a car would not turn even if operating the steering 54can be realized. On the contrary, when the ratio of a change amount ofthe speed ratio Rv of the motors 28 to the operation amount θ of thesteering 54 from the neutral position is set large, the over-steerquality so that the car turns too much for the operation of the steering54 can be realized.

Then, the difference ΔSUS obtained by subtracting the set value of the“SUS R” defining the hardness of the rear suspension from the set valueof the “SUS F” defining the hardness of the front suspension is regardedas a parameter for deciding the turning ability, and correspondingly tothe difference ΔSUS, the correspondence between the operation amount θof the steering 54 and the speed ratio Rv of the motors 28 and 28 ischanged.

Here, the proper speed ratio is changed according to the car speed. Ifthe speed ratio is made too small, especially, at high speed driving, acornering force rises up rapidly by the operation of the steering 54 andthere occurs a rapid movement change like a spin. Accordingly, in theembodiment, the correspondence between the steering 54 and the speedratio of the motors 28 and 28 is set in consideration of therelationship to the car speed, as illustrated in FIG. 12.

As illustrated in FIG. 12A, a line graph showing the relationshipbetween the car speed V and the limit speed ratio Rvlim of the motor 28is set for every ΔSUS. The maximum speed Vmax in FIG. 12A is the carspeed when the operation amount of the throttle lever 55 is the maximumvalue φmax and varies depending on the set value of the “TURBO” asmentioned above (refer to FIG. 11A). Namely, the horizontal axis of FIG.12A can be replaced by the operation amount p of the throttle lever 55.

The limit speed ratio Rvlim of the motor 28 is the speed ratio occurringwhen the operating angle θ of the steering 54 is the maximum value θmax.Though the limit speed ratio Rvlim is more increased toward 1 accordingas the vertical axis of FIG. 12A goes up and up, that the limit speedratio Rvlim approaches 1 means that the difference in the rotation speedbetween the right and left motors 28 and 28 becomes relatively small.Accordingly, FIG. 12A shows that the model car 20 becomes more difficultto turn by the operation of the steering 54 in the upper portion of theline graph. According to the setting example of FIG. 12A, since thelimit speed ratio Rvlim more approaches 1 according as the speed of thecar V is higher, a rapid change in the movement of the model car 20 athigh speed driving can be prevented. When the ΔSUS is a positive value,a line graph is biased to the upper portion according as the ΔSUSbecomes larger, thereby reproducing the under-steer quality such thatthe model car 20 becomes difficult to turn. On the contrary, when ΔSUSis a negative value, a line graph is biased to the lower portionaccording as the ΔSUS becomes smaller, thereby reproducing theover-steer quality such that the model car 20 becomes easy to turn.

As illustrated in FIG. 12B, the correspondence between the operatingangle θ of the steering 54 and the speed ratio Rv of the motors is setfor every ΔSUS. More specifically, assuming that the motor limit speedratio Rvlim can be obtained according to the speed of the car V given byFIG. 12A when the steering 54 is operated to the maximum operating angleθmax, the correspondence between the speed ratio Rv of the motors 28 and28 and the operating angle θ of the steering 54 up to the maximumoperating angle θmax is set for every ΔSUS. Although the line graph ofFIG. 12B is set for every ΔSUS in order to provide proper settingaccording to the steering quality, the line graph of FIG. 12B may bealways constant regardless of ΔSUS. For example, the line graph of FIG.12B may be always in direct proportion to ΔSUS.

Although the speed of the car has been considered in the above setting,only the setting of the relationship between the steering operatingangle θ and the speed ratio Rv of the motors 28 for every differenceΔSUS in the suspension set values is enough in the toy system of thepresent invention, without considering the speed of the car. Namely,although in the example of FIG. 12B, the limit speed ratio Rvlim isdrawn from the line graph of FIG. 12A according to the speed of the carV, the system may be set, without the setting of the limit speed ratioRvlim by consideration of the speed of the car V, in such a way that thesteering operating angle θ can be directly corresponded with the speedratio Rv, as illustrated in FIG. 13, the line graph showing thecorrespondence between the steering operating angle θ and the speedratio Rv can be brought near to 1 according as the suspension set valueΔSUS is larger in a positive direction, so to generate the under-steerquality, and that the line graph can be more lowered from 1 according asΔSUS is larger in a negative direction, so to generate the over-steerquality. In any case of FIG. 12B and FIG. 13, the speed ratio Rv isgradually decreased according as the steering operating angle θ is moreincreased from 0.

The data of each line graph for specifying the correspondence betweenthe respective operation amount θ and φ of the steering 54 and thethrottle lever 55 and the motor control information as mentioned aboveis stored in the storage 10 a of the transmission unit 2. When creatingthe motor control information of FIG. 4 for the model car 20, thecontrol circuit 10 of the transmission unit 2 reads out the settingstate stored in the storage 10 a, detects the respective operationamount θ and φ of the current steering 54 and throttle lever 55, andspecifies the rotation direction and the moving speed of the motors 28and 28 corresponding to these detected values according to the data ofeach line graph, hence to create the motor control information.

Each line graph shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 is to be decided previouslyby a provider (designer or manufacturer) of the toy system SY1 in everyset value of each item. A user only designates which line graph toselect in order to decide the control quality, of the line graphs forevery set value previously prepared, by the set value (one of 1 to 8) ofevery item, and a user cannot change the line graph itself at his or herwill.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the setting processingto be executed by the control circuit 10 of the transmission unit 2 whena user sets the above setting items by using the buttons 56 to 58 ofFIG. 10B.

When a user of the transmission unit 2 pushes the select button 56 once,the control circuit 10 starts the processing of FIG. 14. In the firstStep S21, the setting mode of the front suspension (corresponding to“SUS F” of FIG. 10B) is selected. Then, the set value of the settingitem corresponding to the currently selected setting mode is displayedon the liquid crystal display 18 (Step S22).

Thereafter, whether the control button 57 is pushed or not is checked(Step S23), and when it is pushed, one is added to the set value of thesetting item corresponding to the currently selected setting mode (StepS24). At a time of the maximum value 8, it will return to the minimumvalue 1. Then, whether the enter button 58 is pushed or not is checked(Step S25), and when it is not pushed, the processing will be returnedto Step S22.

When the control button 57 is not pushed in Step S23, whether the selectbutton 56 is pushed or not is checked (Step S26), and when it is pushed,the setting mode is changed to the setting mode of the next item (StepS27). The next item means the item specified next according to the orderfrom top to down in the character information 71 to 75 in FIG. 10B, andthe next item of the “PASS” proves to be the “SUS F”. In order to makeit easy for a user to check which setting mode is selected, it ispreferably that the character information corresponding to the currentlyselected setting mode, of the character information 71 to 75, isdisplayed in a different form from the other character information.

When the select button 56 is not pushed in Step S26 of FIG. 14, Step S27is omitted. In the next Step S28, whether the current setting mode is apassword mode or not (corresponding to the “PASS” in FIG. 10B) isjudged. When it is not the password mode, the processing will bereturned to Step S22.

When it judges to be the password mode in Step S28, a password formed bycombining the set values of each setting item at that time is displayedon the liquid crystal display 18 (Step S30), and whether a predeterminedpassword setting operation is performed on the push button switches 56to 58 or not is checked (Step S31). When the password setting operationis performed, the processing for accepting a password input is performed(Step S32), and thereafter whether the enter button 58 is pushed or notis checked (Step S33). When Step S31 is denied, Step S32 is skipped.When the enter button 58 is not pushed, whether the select button 56 ispushed or not is checked (Step S34). When the select button 56 ispushed, the setting mode is changed to the setting mode of the next item(Step S35), and the processing thereafter will be returned to Step S22.When Step S34 is denied, Step S35 is skipped.

When it judges that the enter button 58 has been pushed in Step S25 orStep S33, the processing for storing the set value at that time into thestorage 10 a is performed (Step S36) and then the processing of FIG. 14will be completed.

According to the above processing, a user can select a modecorresponding to the item on which he or she wants to change thesetting, by the operation of the select button 56, and he or she canchange the set value as it is by the operation of the control button 57.When a user selects the password mode, he or she can enter any password.As mentioned above, since the password corresponds to each set valuefrom 1 to 8 of the four setting items, each setting item can be set at adesired value at once by entering the password.

Further, a special setting code may be entered by using the password.For example, when a specified password including the numeral, 0 or 9,not used as the set value of the four setting items is supplied, it maybe designed such that there will appear a special setting stateincapable of the setting by the operation of the select button 56 andthe control button 57. As the special setting state, there are such asetting that the forward driving or the backward driving is madeimpossible and such a tricky setting that a sideslip of a car body wouldoccur by instant stopping of one wheel or inversing the rotationthereof, in a special operation state.

[Description of the Play Extension System]

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the play extension system SY2 is formed as acontent provider site connected to the Internet 100, and it includes aWeb server 101, a database server 102 for controlling various databases111 to 114 according to an instruction from the Web server 101, and amail server 103 for controlling the transmission/receiving of a mail.

In addition to a predetermined Web server software for working as awindow of access through the Internet 100, a setting check program, aranking analysis program, and an invitation card delivering programrunning by use of, for example, CGI (abbreviation of Common GatewayInterface) are installed in the Web server 101, in order to provide aspecial service for extending the playing way of the toy system SY1 toenhance the fun. These programs may be executed by a Web applicationserver other than the Web server 101.

While, a user of the toy system SY1 can get access to the play extensionsystem SY2 from a predetermined user terminal 120 through an accesspoint 130, a service provider network 131, and the Internet 100. Theuser terminal 120 is formed by a computer comprising a microprocessor, amemory, a display, an input device and the like, and it has to beprovided with a Web browser function capable of interpreting the HTTPprotocol and browsing the Web contents and an environment capable ofexecuting a program supplied as an applet for the Web page (typically,JAVA applet (registered trademark)). Here, a portable telephone, by wayof example, is used as the user terminal 120.

As the database controlled by the database server 102, there areprovided a member database 111, a setting database 112, a game database113, and a score ranking database 114. The member database 111 storesvarious information of a member qualified to use the play extensionsystem SY2. For example, user registration information is obtained froma user who purchased the remote operational toy system SY1, to issue auser ID and a password necessary for providing the service of the systemSY2, and the information is stored into the member database 111 so as tobe associated with the corresponding user personal information.

The setting database 112 is a database for storing a password formed bycombining the respective set values of the four items; front suspension(SUS F), rear suspension (SUS R), brake (BRAKE), and turbo (TURBO),settable by a user through the transmission unit 2 in the remoteoperational toy system SY1, together with the corresponding informationindicating its estimation.

More specifically, in the remote operational toy system SY1, as theparameter for controlling the operating characteristic of the model car20, the setting for the turbo, the brake, and ΔSUS which is regarded asthe difference of the hardness of the suspension is prepared, and theoperating characteristic (control quality) of the model car 20corresponding to these set values, namely, the correspondence betweeneach operation of the steering 54 and the throttle lever 55 of thetransmission unit 2 and a change of rotation in the motors 28 ispredetermined for every combination of the set values by a provider ofthe toy system SY1, as illustrated in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12. The operatingcharacteristic of the model car 20 varies depending on the combinationof these set values. In some combination, everyone can operate the modelcar easily, and in other combination, the operating characteristic is sosevere, although the potential is high, that a beginner cannot operateit well.

Therefore, on the side of a provider, the operating characteristic isestimated on every setting state specified by all the possiblepasswords, and the setting database 112 is built for storing informationof estimation so as to be associated with the respective passwords. Thusbuilt setting database 112 is used for checking the setting state by auser. The estimation information is created as the sentence informationfor expressing the feature of the setting state specified by a password(setting information), or as the sentence information for giving a usera clue of improving the setting state, which information can be storedinto the database 112.

The game database 113 stores the contents of a game and the like to bedelivered to a member of the play extension system SY2. Here, in thisembodiment, in order to transfer a game program to the user terminal 120to thereby enable the game play without having access to a network, anapplication program for a race which can be transmitted to the userterminal 120 through the Web server 101 is stored in the game database113. This program is formed as an applet operatable on the user terminal120 as mentioned above. Here, the application program for a race may bean operatable one on the play extension system SY2. A server fordelivering the application program for a race may be provided separatelyfrom the Web server 101.

The score ranking database 114 is a database for receiving theinformation of the score and the like obtained by a user in a race gameexecuted according to the application program for a race, from the userterminal 120 and for storing the same information so as to be associatedwith the user specifying information (for example, a user ID). The scoreincludes all the information that reflects the user's achievement of agame, even if it does not have the form of points directly, for example,like a lap time in a race game.

The content of the processing to be executed by each program of FIG. 1will be described with reference to FIG. 15 to FIG. 22. In the below, adescription of the general processing performed in order to exchangeinformation between the Web server 101 and the user terminal 120 will beomitted.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the setting diagnosingservice provided by the setting diagnosing program; the left side ofFIG. 15 shows the processing realized on the user terminal 120 by usingthe Web browser and the right side of FIG. 15 shows the processingexecuted by the Web server 101.

When a user activates the Web browser and the information for specifyingthe URL assigned to the start page of the Web site of the play extensionsystem SY2 is transmitted to the Internet 100, the information necessaryfor displaying the top page is transmitted from the Web server 101 tothe user terminal 120 and the top page 200 as shown in FIG. 16A appearson the display of the user terminal 120. The top page 200 includes “DATADIAGNOSING” and “DOWNLOAD” as user's selectable items. This hierarchyand display position may be set freely. When selecting the “DOWNLOAD”,the application program for a race and the data used for the same can bedownloaded into the user terminal 120 from the Web server 101 accordingto a predetermined procedure. The procedure is omitted here.

When a user selects the “DATA DIAGNOSING” from the top page 200 andperforms a predetermined deciding operation, the processing of FIG. 15starts on the user terminal 120 by using the function of the Webbrowser, and the user terminal 120 transmits the Web server 101 anaccess request to a data diagnosing page (Step S101). Upon receipt ofthis, the Web server 101 starts the processing according to the settingdiagnosing program and transmits the user terminal 120 various contentsnecessary for displaying the requested diagnosing page on the userterminal 120 (Step S201).

The user terminal 120, upon receipt of the contents, displays thediagnosing page 201, as illustrated in FIG. 16B (Steps S102), andaccepts a password input in an input box 210 a of the diagnosing page201 (Step S103). The password requested to be entered here is theabove-mentioned password of four digits which specifies the settingstate of the transmission unit 2. A password which can be entered doesnot have to be limited to the password corresponding to the user'scurrent setting state. Any password will do which a user wants todiagnosing.

When a user enters a password and performs the deciding operation, theuser terminal 120 transmits the password to the Web server 101 (StepS104). The Web server 101 receives the password (Step S202), andthereafter, collaborating with the database server 102, obtains theestimation information corresponding to the password through retrievingthe setting database 112 (Step S203). Then, it transmits the obtainedestimation information to the user terminal 120 as the diagnosing result(Step S204).

The user terminal 120 receives the transmitted diagnosing result (StepS105), and displays the received diagnosing result, for example, asillustrated in FIG. 16C (Step S106). Thus, the processing of the settingdiagnosing service has been completed.

According to the above processing, a user of the toy system SY1transmits the setting state of his or her own transmission unit 2 to thesupport system SY2 as a password, thereby obtaining the information forestimating the setting state specified by the password. The estimationinformation can include a comment on the setting state and an advice forimproving the setting state, as illustrated in FIG. 16C, and it ispossible for a user to know the objective estimation about his or herown setting state from the obtained information, hence to improve thesetting state based on the estimation, or to try to play in thelowly-estimated setting state.

A race game to be executed on the user terminal 120 according to theapplication program for a race will be described with reference to FIG.17 and FIG. 18.

When a user downloads the application program for a race into the userterminal 120 and then executes the same program, a race mode screen 210shown in FIG. 18A appears. With the race mode screen 210 displayed, whena user performs a predetermined start operation, the race processing ofFIG. 17 starts on the user terminal 120. In the first Step S111, carselecting processing is performed. In this processing, for example, acar selection screen 211 shown in FIG. 18B appears and a user can selectone car of a plurality of cars represented.

When the selection of a car is finished, course selecting processing isperformed (Step S112). In this processing, for example, a courseselection screen 212 shown in FIG. 18C appears, and a user can selectone course having a race from a plurality of the courses representedthere. When a course is selected, the processing for entering thesetting of the car is performed (Step S113). As illustrated in FIG. 18D,the same items as the four setting items in the toy system SY1 aredisplayed on the screen, and a user can specify some set value of 8steps from 1 to 8, for each item, similarly to the toy system SY1.

When the setting is finished, the race is executed (Step S114). Here,for example, a race screen 214 indicating the race scene dynamically isdisplayed, as illustrated in FIG. 18E. In this race, a user can notdrive a car, but the central processing unit (CPU) of the user terminal120 sequentially calculates the progress of the race according to therace program.

Calculation of the race state can be performed, for example, byreferring to the course selected in Step S112 and the setting suppliedin Step S113. For example, calculation expression of the race state isset so as to run a car faster in the setting superior in speed than inthe setting superior in cornering performance when a course capable ofhigh speed running is selected, and so as to run a car faster in thesetting superior in acceleration performance at a medium or low speedand in the cornering performance than in the setting superior in speedwhen a course having a lot of curves is selected.

The correspondence between the car characteristic and the values of thesetting supplied in Step S113 is predetermined to be similar to thecorrespondence between a password in the toy system SY1 and the drivingcharacteristic (control quality) of the model car 20 specified by thepassword. For example, when there is the setting state (password) forobtaining in which such a driving characteristic that the maximum speedis high but that the cornering is difficult in the toy system SY1, theperformance of a car will be set at the same setting; the maximum speedis high but the cornering is difficult, if entering the same settingvalue in Step S113. By setting in the above way, a user can feel acorrelation between the achievement of the virtual race held on thescreen and the achievement when a race is held in the toy system SY1.

When a race progresses to a predetermined end position, the race isover, and the processing will be advanced to Step S115 of FIG. 17, wherethe race result and the password are displayed, for example, asillustrated on the screen 215 of FIG. 18F, thereby finishing the raceprocessing of FIG. 17. As apparent from FIG. 18F, the race result isdisplayed as time. Here, different from the above-mentioned passwordreflecting the setting state, this password is the character string foruse in the ranking mode processing described next, including theinformation for specifying at least the course, time, and setting of therace.

FIG. 19 is a flow chart showing the procedure of a ranking providingservice provided by the ranking analysis program; the left side of FIG.19 shows the processing to be realized on the user terminal 120 by usingthe Web browser, and the right side of FIG. 19 shows the processing tobe executed by the Web server 101. This service starts when a useroperates the terminal 120 so as to get access to a predetermined rankingpage on the Web server 101, and in the first Step S121, a predeterminedpassword input screen 220 shown in FIG. 20A is displayed on the userterminal 120. When a user supplies the password issued in the raceprocessing of FIG. 17 to the input box of the password input screen 220,the user terminal 120 transmits the password to the Web server 101 (StepS122).

Upon receipt of the password, the Web server 101 starts the processingaccording to the ranking analysis program, retrieves the score rankingdatabase 114 with a clue of the received password, and obtains the ordercorresponding to the password transmitted by a user (Step S221). Theorder at this time is independently decided for every course.Thereafter, the Web server 101 transmits the data specifying theobtained order to the user terminal 120 (Step S222). The database server102 stores the received password into the score ranking database 114 soas to be associated with the information specifying the order and themember identity. Thus, the data of the score ranking database 114 isupdated every time a password specifying the course, time and setting istransmitted from the user terminal 120.

The user terminal 120 receives the order data transmitted from the Webserver 101 (Step S123), and displays the order specified by the data,for example, like the screen 221 of FIG. 20B (Step S124). Thereafter,the user terminal 120 discriminates whether or not a user has done theoperation for requesting the display of an order list (Step S125), andwhen this operation is done, the user terminal 120 requests the Webserver 101 to transmit the order list data (Step S126).

On the other hand, the Web server 101 monitors whether the order list isrequested from the user terminal 120 or not (Step S223), when it isrequested, the Web server 101 obtains the order list data based on thedata of the score ranking database 114 (Step S224), and transmits theorder list data to the user terminal 120 (Step S225).

The user terminal 120 receives the order list data (Step S127), andbased on the received data, for example, an order list screen 222 isdisplayed, as illustrated in FIG. 20C (Step S128). When a user does notdesire the display of the order list, the processing of Step S126 toStep S128 is skipped, Step S223 is denied in the Web server 10 i, andStep S224 and Step S225 are skipped.

After displaying the order list, the user terminal 120 transmits the endof the process to the Web server 101 (Step S129). The Web server 101judges whether the process should be finished or not according to theuser terminal 120 transmission the process end or not (Step S226), andwhen it is not judged to be end, this step will return to Step S223,while when it is judged to be end, the processing of FIG. 19 isfinished.

FIG. 21 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the invitation carddelivering processing to be executed by the Web server 101 according tothe invitation card delivering program. This processing is to invite anexcellent person registered in the score ranking database 114 to anactual meeting (race event) of the toy system SY1, and for example, amanager of the Web server 101 instructs its performance, therebystarting this processing. In the first Step S231, the top 300 personsare obtained with reference to the score registered in the score rankingdatabase 114. The obtained 300 persons are classified by every 100persons (Step S232), and the destination addresses of the invitationcards for the top persons are obtained from the member database 111(Step S233). The destination address includes, for example, electronicmail address, general post address, fax/telephone number, and the like.

Next, the processing for inputting the information about the meeting forinputting the extracted 300 persons is performed (Step S234). A Webmanager may enter the above information by hand, alternatively, theinformation about the meeting may be collected through the Internet 100and the collected information may be automatically received. Uponreceipt of the meeting information, the invitation card data is created(Step S235) For example, when an invitation card is delivered to amember from the mail server 103 using electronic mail, the text of themail is created. When the invitation card data is created, the createdcard is transmitted to all the transmission destinations obtained inStep S233 (Step S236). Thus, the processing of FIG. 21 is completed.

FIG. 22 shows an example of an invitation card screen 230 displayed onthe user terminal 120 when an invitation card is delivered to the userterminal 120 as an electronic mail. As illustrated in this example, thesetting for the toy system SY1 is specified on the invitation cardscreen 23 together with at least the date and the place of the meetingand the rank of the invited user. Specified by the password issued inStep S115 of FIG. 17, the setting corresponds to the set values of thesetting used by a user in the race processing of FIG. 17.

In the meeting, a user is obliged to supply the setting specified by theinvitation card of FIG. 22 as the password, to the transmission unit 2,with the result that a correlation is established between the rankingdefined in the score ranking database 114 of FIG. 17 and the performanceof the toy system SY1 of the participants. The participants areclassified according to the ranking database 114, hence to even theability of the participants. On the other hand, a driving ability of themodel car 20 becomes an important element in the actual game meeting, sothat only the performance of a car does not decide the game necessarily.Accordingly, an exciting race can be expected in each class.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment,but various modifications are possible. For example, the driving machine1 of the toy system SY1 is not limited to a car, but it may be a tankand a vessel. Further, it is not limited to a self-running type, but thepresent invention may be adopted to, for example, the operation of arobot, a doll and the like. The toy system combined with the playextension system of the present invention is not limited to aremote-controlled one, but a user may directly operate it. Further, thepresent invention can be adopted to a toy system in which a user isnever involved in the operation but user only sets the parameters. Theuser terminal is not limited to a portable telephone, but any computerwill do as far as it can execute a game provided from the play extensionsystem. Further, the present invention is not limited to the example ofexecuting a game on the user terminal, but with a game executed on theplay extension system, the electronic information for displaying theexecution state may be transmitted to the user terminal.

As described above, according to the present invention, objectiveestimation on the setting state of a toy system can be supplied to auser by using a network, or a game representing a virtual play of a toysystem can be played by a user through a network, thereby enhancing thefun of this kind of toy system by extending the playing way of only thetoy system.

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 3. (canceled)
 4. (canceled)
 5. (canceled) 6.A play extension system to be used by combination with a toy system inwhich a user can change setting of parameters affecting motion controlof a driving machine, comprising: an electronic information providingdevice for providing a user terminal operated by each user withelectronic information for displaying on a screen of the user terminal astate of a game virtually reproducing a play with the driving machine inthe toy system, upon receipt of access from a plurality of users througha predetermined network; a game result storing device for storing aresult of the game, which is displayed on the screen of each userterminal, so as to be associated with information specifying the user; aprivilege issuing device for issuing a predetermined privilege at leastto some user, referring to the result of the game stored in the gameresult storing device; and a privilege notifying device for transmittinginformation associated with the privilege to a destination correspondingto a privileged user, wherein in the game based on the electronicinformation provided by the electronic information providing device, auser's setting operation of the same type of parameter as a user'ssettable type of parameter in the toy system is required and the setparameter affects the result of the game.
 7. The play extension systemaccording to claim 6, wherein the parameter to be input in the gameaffects a motion characteristic of a driving machine appearing in thegame and the result of the game varies depending on the motioncharacteristic.
 8. The play extension system according to claim 6,wherein the privilege issuing device specifies a user who has obtainedthe game result equal to or superior to a predetermined level, referringto the stored game result, and issues the privilege to the specifieduser.
 9. The play extension system according to claim 8, wherein theprivilege issuing device issues an entry right to a specified meetingusing the toy system as the privilege, and the privilege notifyingdevice transmits the information for notifying the issue of the entryright, to the destination, together with the information on an entrycondition of the meeting, as the information on the privilege.
 10. Theplay extension system according to claim 9, wherein the game resultstoring device stores the result of the game so as to be associated withthe parameter input by the user, and the privilege notifying devicetransmits the information specifying the parameter stored by the gameresult storing device correspondingly to the game result which hasgenerated the entry right to the meeting, as the information on theentry condition to the meeting.
 11. (canceled)
 12. A program forconstructing a play extension system by one or a plurality of servers ofa Web site, which system is used by combination with a toy system inwhich a user can change setting of parameters affecting motion controlof a driving machine, wherein the program for a play extension system isdesigned to work the server as: an electronic information providingdevice for providing a user terminal operated by each user withelectronic information for displaying on a screen of the user terminal astate of a game virtually reproducing a play with the driving machine inthe toy system, upon receipt of access from a plurality of users througha predetermined network; a game result storing device for storing aresult of the game, which is displayed on the screen of each userterminal so as to be associated with information specifying the user; aprivilege issuing device for issuing a predetermined privilege at leastto some user, referring to the result of the game stored in the gameresult storing device; and a privilege notifying device for transmittinginformation associated with the privilege to a destination correspondingto a privileged user, and in the game based on the electronicinformation provided by the electronic information providing device, auser's setting operation of the same type of parameter as a user'ssettable type of parameter in the toy system is required and the setparameter affects the result of the game.